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Car choices: Men are from Italy, women are from Sweden

The VW Beetle is getting more love from the males than previous versions. Photo by VW

In a study result that surprises no one, it turns out that women prefer small cars and crossovers while men like Ferraris. At least according to TrueCar's annual report on the subject, that is.

Mini, Nissan, Kia and Honda models are purchased by women about 45 percent of the time. Men are overwhelmingly the buyers of vehicles, leading to the sub-50 percent number.

Ferrari, Bentley, Maserati and Porsche vehicles are usually purchased by men. More than 92 percent of Ferrari buyers are men, 83.4 percent for Bentley, 82.8 percent for Maserati and 76.5 percent for Porsche.

“While gender preferences amongst the buyers of various automotive brands still exist, the gap is narrowing,” said Jesse Toprak, vice president of market intelligence at TrueCar.com. “The SUV and truck-heavy mix of the domestic automakers continue to generate a disproportionate number of male customers, while the exotic brands remain to be the best medicine for a midlife crisis.”

Women also seem to prefer imports more than men do, though the pickup truck market skews the numbers. Sixteen of the top 20 brands with the highest percentage of female buyers were foreign, while only 11 of the top 20 were imports on the men's side.

What does this tell us? Well, women are stepping into dealerships far more often than they used to. They're also a bit more prudent with their vehicle purchases than men. The Volkswagen Beetle is no longer the top car for percentage of female buyers; that honor goes to the Volvo S40. Men will have to make due with the Porsche 911.